Mistral News

Norway-based Edda Wind on Tuesday announced it has taken delivery of a newly built service operation vessel (SOV) from Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Balenciaga.The vessel, C416—to be renamed Edda Goelo at a later stage—was delivered on March 26. It will be the permanent vessel in the contract with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy at the Saint-Brieuc wind farm in France, running until Q2 2028. C416 is of Salt 0358 design and the sister vessel of Edda Brint, delivered from Astilleros Balenciaga in October 2022.

Norway-based offshore wind service vessel firm Edda Wind on Thursday took delivery of Edda Boreas CSOV from Gondan Shipyard. The vessel is the second of six sister vessels to be delivered from Gondan.The commissioning service operation vessel will start installation of the motion-compensated gangway- and crane system after leaving the yard in Spain. After this, the vessel will start work at Dogger Bank wind farms in the UK in May, where it will remain for at least two years.The…

Norwegian offshore wind vessel owner Edda Wind has secured a one-year contract extension with Ørsted for its Edda Mistral vessel.Since its delivery in 2018, the Service Operation Vessel (SOV) Edda Mistral has been operating for Ørsted at the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom. The firm period expires at the end of August 2023. Ørsted has declared an option to extend the contract, in direct continuation, by 12 months until the end of August 2024 at a day rate subject…

Norwegian offshore wind service vessel firm Edda Wind has ordered another commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) from Gondan Shipbuilders, in Spain.The newbuild will be of Salt 0474 design, which is a further development of the Salt 0217 design and will be delivered in April 2025. In addition, the company has an option with the yard for one more vessel.Including the latest newbuild, Edda Wind will have a fleet of 10 purpose-built vessels, of which six are currently under contract.

The European Commission has chosen Technip Energies, X1 Wind, and a consortium of ten international entities, to deliver the NextFloat project, a program aimed at accelerating industrial-scale floating wind.NextFloat project's main objectives are to demonstrate a competitive, sustainable, and integrated floating offshore wind solution optimized for deep waters and to accelerate the industrial-scale deployment of floating offshore wind. The integrated solution relies on X1 Wind's floating offshore wind technology…

Edda Wind’s new Service Operation Vessel Edda Goelo (C416) was launched at Astilleros Balenciaga shipyard in Spain on Friday.Edda Goelo will serve as a mother vessel for wind turbine technicians as they perform maintenance work on offshore wind turbines. When completed, the new SOV will start operations for wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa at Iberdrola’s offshore wind farm in the Saint-Brieuc Bay off France in the third quarter of 2023. The vessel has a five-year contract with Siemens Gamesa…

Norwegian offshore wind services firm Edda Wind has taken delivery of its first CSOV, the Edda Breeze. The vessel was built by Astilleros Gondán shipyard in Spain.The hydrogen-ready vessel is the first to be delivered as part of a nine-vessel newbuilding program. The new Commissioning Operation Vessel (CSOV) will in August go on a ten-year contract with Ocean Breeze at the Bard Offshore 1 wind farm in Germany. “The delivery of Edda Breeze marks the start of deliveries for our newbuilding program of nine vessels.

U-Ming Marine Offshore Company Limited (UMO) has acquired two secondhand crew transfer vessels (CTVs) and completed their reflagging.The company, a joint venture between U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation and World Marine Offshore A/S, said the vessels, “UMO Mistral” and “UMO Scirocco” were trimaran SWATH vessels ideal for the harsh environment in Taiwan. "The hull form of the trimaran gives crew and passengers optimal sea comfort and less fatigue, and reduced slamming. The design shows a 40% improvement of uptime compared to best catamarans available on the market.

Tanker shipping company Nordic American Tankers (NAT) announced on Wednesday it has sold the 164,236 dwt Suezmax Nordic Mistral.New York-listed NAT did not reveal the buyer, but said the vessel is slated to be handed over to the new owner later this month. The 274-meter-long ship was built in 2002 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.The sale is NAT's second in recent months. In October 2021, the company announced the sale of 2000-built Nordic Sirius, since renamed Ocean Peri.NAT, which in July 2021 revealed plans to sell the vessels as part of a fleet renewal program, said it sold the two ships for about $30 million combined.NAT now controls a fleet of 23 Suezmaxes, including two 156,800 dwt newbuilds scheduled to be delivered from South Korea in May and June this year.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated a large naval base on Saturday 135 km from the border with Libya, flanked by close ally Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Libya's unity president,Egypt says the July 3 base will help it protect strategic and economic interests as well as helping guard against irregular migration as it boosts its naval presence on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.At the inauguration, two Mistral helicopter carriers…

As the traditional offshore oil and gas markets continue to struggle, the renewable offshore wind market is hot and getting hotter.As the cumulative maritime, offshore, port and logistics marketplace gears up for offshore wind energy on a huge scale, World Energy Reports (WER), in its report “2021 The Year When Offshore Wind Takes Off in the United States,” shows the anticipated growth trajectory. Service Operations Vessels (SOVs), which can commission and/or maintain turbines…

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, navies adjusted how they operate at home and while deployed, to keep their forces ready for any missions as they keep their Sailors, families, communities, as well as allies and partners safe from the coronavirus.Navies have taken a number of prudent preventative measures to limit outbreaks, mitigate cases of infection and reduce the community spread of the virus.Speaking during his May 29 “On The Horizon: Navigating the European and African Theaters” podcast, Admiral James G. Foggo III, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, said The U.S.

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Østensjø has said it is assisting in the ongoing search and rescue (SAR) after a fighter jet crashed off the UK coast on Monday."Østensjø's offshore wind vessel “Edda Mistral” and her autonomous workboat “Mistral Worker” were in the vicinity of the fighter jet crash off the UK coast. Both vessels are engaged in the ongoing search and rescue SAR operation," the company said Monday.The vessels are reporting to UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency who is coordinating the SAR-operation.

Socarenam, French shipyard specialized in the construction of all types of ships up to 110 meters long, has delivered Mistral, the final one of four patrol boats in a series designed by the maritime solution provider Mauric and ordered by the French Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes.Mistral joins sisters Libecciu, Cers, and Vent d’Amont, which were delivered between September 2017 and May 2018.Since 2007, Socarenam and Mauric are involved in the design and construction of vessels ordered by the French Customs: 2 units of 44 m Offshore Patrol Vessel (Jacques Oudart Fourmentin and Kermorvan – Mauric OPV 440), 1 unit of 53…

The French defense procurement agency “Direction Générale de l’Armement” (DGA)  signed a contract for the procurement of four new Logistic Support Ships (LSS) for the French Navy.The temporary consortium formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group has been notified of the order for LSS and of their first six years of operational maintenance.According to a press release from the French industrial group specialised in naval defence and marine renewable energy, this order for the French Navy is part of the Franco-Italian LSS Programme led by OCCAr, the international Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation, on behalf of DGA…

French shipbuilder Naval Group officially opened Alexandria Naval for Maintenance and Industry, its Egyptian subsidiary which will be responsible for the maintenance of Egyptian Navy vessels built and delivered by Naval Group.Alexandria Naval strengthens Naval Group sustainable footprint in Egypt for current and future naval programs.Naval Group’s long term partnership with the Egyptian Navy and the Egyptian industry has reached a new milestone with the opening of a subsidiary dedicated to the in service support of Naval Group’s vessels and future naval programs. This success was enabled thanks to the conclusive contractual discussions…

Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán said it recently celebrated milestones for the two latest newbuilds under construction for owner Østensjø Rederi A/S. On Saturday, the first Spanish-built service operation vessel (SOV), Edda Passat, was named at Gondán's Figueras shipyard, and the day before, also after the celebration of her naming, sister vessel, Edda Mistral, was launched into the Ria del Eo. The 81-meter-long, 17-meter-beam sister SOVs, of Rolls-Royce’s UT 540 WP design…

French industrial group DCNS has delivered LHD (Landing Helicopter Dock) Anwar El Sadat, the second of two helicopter carriers acquired by the Arab Republic of Egypt. The flag transfer ceremony took place September 16, 2016 in the presence of the two Chiefs of Staff of the Egyptian and French navies, Admiral Rabie and Admiral Prazuck, the chairman and CEO of DCNS, Hervé Guillou, and the president of STX France, Laurent Castaing, together with senior French and Egyptian officials.

Vessel sales for March 2016 (as of April 1) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York.

While new designs often grab headlines, mature designs that have enjoyed success are perhaps better indicators of true progress in marine technology. When the Ultstein X-Bow made its debut 10 years ago, some scoffed at the unusual design characteristics. They laugh no more, as the Ultstein X-Bow hull line design turns 10. Now in its tenth year, the 100th X-BOW shipbuilding contract was signed, and the X-BOW’s derivative, the X-STERN – a similar solution for the ship’s stern – has been contracted on its first two vessels.

France has agreed to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt for 950 million euros ($1.06 billion) after their sale to Russia was canceled in August, French officials said on Wednesday. Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the conflict in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt's allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil. "We unwound the contract we had with Russia, on good terms, respectful of Russia and not suffering any penalty for France," Hollande told reporters on his arrival at an EU summit in Brussels.

French President Francois Hollande and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi have agreed on the purchase by Egypt of the two French Mistral helicopter carriers whose planned sale to Russia was cancelled. "They agreed on the principle and the terms of the acquisition by Egypt of the two" Mistral warships, Hollande's office said in a statement on Wednesday. France, whose navy already operates three of the Mistral helicopter carriers, has no use for the ships, whose sale to Russia was scrapped due to the Ukraine crisis. Reporting by James Regan

Two Mistrals were originally destined for Russia. France is in talks to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt after their sale to Russia was cancelled earlier this month, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday. Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year-old insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the crisis in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt's allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil. A sale would also fit into France's recent strategy of favouring predominantly Sunni Arab nations, both politically and commercially, over their Shi'ite rival Iran.